The Hidden Castle
by witchgrl177
Summary: Harry spends the summer after 4th year in a new place where relationships develop and Harry learns who he really is.......Powerful!Harry......HarryGeorge
1. A Family

Characters and anything else you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling!

A Family

Three weeks into the summer holiday, Harry Potter was staring unseeingly out the window of the smallest bedroom of number four Privet Drive. His mind endlessly going over the events of his fourth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry; he was constantly trying to figure out how things had ended the way did. Why on earth did he think it was a good idea for them to grab the trophy, why didn't he see that the DADA teacher was what he said, why wasn't he more suspicious after the incident with Krum in the maze. Something ALWAYS happened at the end of year, he should have been prepared! Suddenly, Harry realized that Albus Dumbledore was standing in the doorway waiting for his presence to be acknowledged.

"Headmaster!"

"Hello, my boy," Dumbledore began, eyes twinkling in that way that only his can. "I have received some interesting news recently that leads me to believe it would be best for you to spend the rest of the holidays elsewhere."

"Where?"

"A safe house far from the reaches of those who seek to harm."

By now Harry was more than slightly confused. "What happened? Was any one hurt?"

Giving Harry a soft, slightly patronizing, smile, the headmaster responded, "I have been given reason to believe that Voldemort is looking for this residence. However, if he were to learn you were no longer here, he would have very little reason to attack the town of Little Whinging."

"How are we getting to the safe house?"

"Portkey. Pack your stuff and we'll be off."

As soon as Harry threw all of meager belongings in his trunk, he grabbed hold of the rag that the headmaster held out for him, and they were off.

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The safe house turned out to be an old Manor hidden amongst the Alps. (**a.n/ since i'm ignoring ootp, i'm going to ignore the notion of grimauld place**) The Manor had been in the Dumbledore family for many generations, and had often been used as a home base for those who fought against the dark. The house was called _Maison de Soleil_. There were also rumors that the manor house was but a guest house; that there was a castle somewhere on the property, but no one had seen it for all the generations that the lands had belonged to the Dumbledore family.

When Harry arrived with Dumbledore, the manor was far from empty: all of the Weasleys were there, as well Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. There were also a few other witches and wizards that Harry was certain he had never met.

"Professor, who are all these other people? I mean, obviously I recognize the Weasleys and Professor Lupin, and SIRIUS..." Harry cut himself off as ran towards his godfather as soon as his brain processed the fact that he was actually in the same room as Sirius. The old man just chuckled to himself at his favorite student reaction; not that he would ever admit to having a favorite, of course.

"Hey, kid!" Sirius said as soon as Harry let go of him and allowed him to breath.

"Sirius, how have you been, where have been, how long are you staying here?"

"Easy there, one question at a time," Padfoot said with a laugh. "I've actually been pretty decent, meals on a semi-regular basis will do that. I've been all sorts of places, found myself here about a month ago; and unless something come up, I plan on being here for at least the rest of the summer!"

"That's great! How long on you staying Professor Lupin?"

"Please, Harry, it's Remus. Or Moony if you prefer. I, too, plan on staying for the rest of the holidays."

"Wow, I think this is gonna be my best summer vacation yet! So...ah...where are we exactly? The headmaster didn't really explain..."

The three continued to talk about nothing and everything, catching up and getting to know each other the way they should. For the first time on his life Harry actually felt like he had a family.


	2. Beginnings

Characters and anything else you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling!

Beginnings

"FRED! GEORGE! COME HERE THIS _INSTANT_!"

At the shout, Harry's head shot up from where he staring at the chess board sitting between himself and Ron. Harry was, as usual, losing spectacularly.

"Oi, what have those two done this time," Ron said while rolling his eyes. "I swear if they keep this up Mum is gonna actually throttle 'em!"

"How're they worse than any other summer; I mean don't the always get into trouble with your Mum?" Harry was quite curious about this phenomena. However, if he was honest with himself he hoped that the twins kept making more and more mischief, and perhaps even including him in some. _Although_, he thought, _it might be more fun to prank them rather than prank with them!_

"I don't now how, but they actually have managed to be worse! They're starting to make some real plans for a store now too...What are you thinking Harry?" Ron knew that look that was currently residing on Harry's face, it meant invisibility cloaks and rule breaking!

"Your brothers may be the infamous 'Weasley Twins', but even they admit they've got nothing on the Marauders..."

"And they don't realize that they're living under the same roof as Moony and Padfoot..."

"Prank War," the boys chorused in unison.

"Hey Sirius, Remus, could you both come here for a minute," Harry called out into the corridor.

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While Harry, Ron, Remus, and Sirius were planning various pranks to pull on Fred and George, said twins were hiding in one of the unused wing of the manor. They were in what was at one time an old sitting room with various couches and love seats.

"So you think she's calmed down yet, Forge?"

"I don't know, I mean we did make Charlie's hair turn blue, Bill's purple, and Ginny's pink"

"With no way to fix it until it wears off in a week. Yeah, she's definitely still mad."

"But at least we know that the _extra long lasting color conjuration gum drops _work."

"So true, so very true brother dear."

"Now, who shall we get next? Harry and little Ronniekins perhaps?" Fred was getting back into planning mode. He would not rest until everyone in the manor had been sufficiently pranked!

"I'm all for getting our lovely little brother, but maybe we should leave our silent partner alone?" For reasons that George didn't care to analyze, he had no desire to pull any embarrassing pranks on Harry. Also, the mere mention of the Boy-Who-Lived was more than enough to cause the famous 'Weasley Blush' to take up residence on his face and neck.

"My dearest George, is there something you wish to share with your infinitely better half?"

George, being the mature adult that he was, reacted by throwing a pillow at his brother's head and sticking his tongue out. This, of course, started an all out pillow war between the two for the next hour or so.

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Lunch on Harry's first full day at the manor was a rather interesting affair. Mrs. Weasley was alternating between scolding and ignoring the twins; the twins were planning their upcoming prank on Ron, although George kept stealing glances at Harry with Fred teasing him every time he did; Sirius, Ron, Remus, and Harry were planning the prank war that they would be declaring soon, but at the same time Harry found it to be rather difficult to concentrate on what was going on with George so close by; and finally, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were all thinking about how unfortunate it was that getting revenge on the twins would only cause them to be pranked again.

All this being said, Albus Dumbledore found the scene he had just walked into to be highly amusing. "Well, I see everyone is settling in quite nicely. I'm just going to steal Mr. Potter for a little bit. Oh, and Miss Granger will be arriving tomorrow."

"she didn't go to Bulgaria?" Ron turned bright red when he realized that he had actually said that out-loud.

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Leading Harry out onto the lawns of the expansive property, the headmaster question: "Now, how are you really my boy?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I still don't really know how to deal with everything that happened, and every time i think about Ced...But being with everyone is helping. And no one could be depressed in such a beautiful Manor." To emphasis this last point, Harry gestured back towards the house where they could see the huge bay windows that allowed sunlight to flood the rooms inside, and the intricate stone work that was covered with ivy that made up the outside of the old manor.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about things, I'm sure that anyone in the manor would lend an ear. I am of course including myself in that."

"Thank you, sir," Harry responded quietly. "Um, is there a specific reason you brought me out here?"

"Ah, and so we get to the heart of the matter. As much as I wish I could give you a nice relaxing summer, we must face the truth that Voldemort is back and will most assuredly continue to target you my boy." As Dumbledore began his explanation, the notorious twinkle was absent from his eyes. "And since this is unfortunately the case, I feel that it is my duty to give you every possible advantage."

Harry stared out over the magnificent gardens and rolling hills that made up the Soleil Estate while he contemplated the effects that the headmaster's words would have on his life and the lives of those closest to him. Harry walked over to the fountain in the middle of the garden that they were currently wandering through, the fountain was circular with a statue of single rose with water dripping off the petals. As he took a seat on the edge of the fountain he queried: "So what exactly do you mean by giving me 'every possible advantage,' Professor; and will Ron and Hermione be included in this, too?"

"Generally speaking, I am talking about training you. Your friends, the four youngest Weasleys and Miss Granger will be included up to a certain extent."

"And specifically, sir?"

"You shall be trained in various for forms of advanced magic by myself, and Sirius will teach how to properly wield the blade that came into your belonging during your second year." Here the wise old man paused to give Harry a significant look.

"The Sword of Griffindor is mine, sir?"

"Indeed. I believe your godfather will be able to explain those circumstances to you. Continuing on, all six of you will work with Professor Snape to learn to recognize various potions or poisons in food or drink and learn to brew the antidotes. All of you will learn about defensive strategy from an Auror name Alastor Moody, and finally Remus shall be instructing the lot of you in hand-to-hand combat."

"This is going to be a very busy summer isn't, Professor?"

"It will be, but I'm sure you are all up to the task. And please Harry, call me Albus." At this Dumbledore gestured that they should return to the house.

"Of course, Pro...Albus," Harry commented with a smile and a small shake of the head as he stood up.


	3. Birthday Surprises

Characters and anything else you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling!

Birthday Surprises

When Hermione arrived the following morning, the Golden Trio instantly threw themselves into conversation full of un finished sentences and inside jokes that left the occupants of the house more than a little bemused.

"Oh, Professor Lupin, I didn't see you there! How are you? And Snuffles...I, uh, I mean Sirius, you look great! Gosh it's great to see you all!" Hermione broke out of the conversation she was having with her boys when she noticed the two old friends standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Hello there, Hermione, I'm doing just fine. However, seeing as I haven't been your professor for over a year now, perhaps you should call me Remus," the werewolf gently chided her with a soft smile.

"of course, Remus."

"Now, is the older Mr. Weasleys would be kind enough to bring your bags up to the room you will be using for the rest of the summer, Harry and Ron her can give you the grand tour," Dumbledore commented to get the day moving.

Bill and Charlie stepped forward and picked up Hermione's bags, garnering an odd look from the girl when she noticed their hair. However, Ron had already grabbed her arm and began leading her out of the entrance hall, leaving her no chance to comment or ask about what was obviously a prank by the twins. Harry silently followed the two down the hall shaking his head at Ron's antics.

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The two boys decided to start the tour on the top floor and work their way down so they could meet up with everyone else for lunch in the kitchen on the first floor. So, the three of them climbed the huge spiral staircase up to the third floor.

The third floor of the manor had the master suite, which was used by Albus Dumbledore since it was, after all, his home. The master suite consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom, and a sitting room/study. On the floor, there were also two more bedrooms; these were being used by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Sirius and Remus since they were larger than the bedrooms that took up the majority of the second floor. Moony also had a room in the basement, although the room was just as much Padfoot's because he joined him each and every month.

When she noticed through the slightly ajar door that there appeared to be only on bed in the marauders' room, Hermione felt compelled to ask: "Is there something going on between those two? I mean, first their behavior that night in the shack, and now I'm pretty sure they're sharing a bed..."

Ron looked at Hermione like she was off her rocker, while Harry just looked thoughtful.

Storing this new information away for later, the bookworm noticed the library. The two story library with hundreds of books just waiting for her to read.

"Oi, mate. I think we've lost her."

Laughing Harry replied, "Oh, I'm sure she'll be out of there in a week or so! Well, since our tour seems to have ended, I say we find Moony and Padfoot and prepare for our first prank."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

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The four pranksters were sitting in a hidden back corner of the library, the last room anyone would look for Harry, Ron or Sirius, planning just what they were going to do to Fred and George. The whole time Harry kept watching the two marauders to see if perhaps Hermione was right, and they romantically involved. What he was seeing was leasing him to believe that they were. Harry saw this as very good thing; one, because they deserved to be happy, and two, he needed someone to talk to about the fact that he had a crush on another guy.

Ron was clueless to whole situation, of course.

When Sirius and Ron went to gather some supplies, Harry decided to confront the werewolf with his suspicions.

"Are you and Sirius together?" He also decided to be blunt about it.

"I...Uh...Excuse Me," Remus sputtered.

"I'm just curious. I mean, you act like, for the last hour you've both been touch each other at very opportunity. So are you?"

"Yes, yes we are. Does that bother you?" Remus really didn't want there to be anything that hindered the relation that seemed to be building between the three of them. They needed their cub as much as Harry needed parental figures.

"Not at all...I actually kinda wanted to ask you, because you see, well," Harry trained off while blushing a brilliant shade of Weasley red.

"Did ya miss me?" Sirius called out as he and Ron returned with supplies for the prank.

Remus just gave Harry a look before they started to get everything ready.

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One week later found Harry sitting on his bed, with Hedwig on his shoulder, at 11:45 getting ready to count down to his 15th birthday. What Harry didn't know was that his friends remembered this tradition of his, and had no plans to let him celebrate alone this year. So, at five minutes 'til midnight, Ron got out of bed and Hermione and Ginny came in from their room, leaving Harry speechless.

At exactly midnight the twins entered the room with a bang, literally. They had set off four or five small spheres that burst open and released confetti. The confetti was actually little snitches that continued to fly around the room for a full ten minutes; Hedwig was NOT a fan of this new invention of the twins' and had flown out of the room in a huff.

By this point Harry was so overwhelmed, he was practically in tears. For the first time in his life he was celebrating his birthday with people he cared about and, more importantly, people who cared about him.

The group continued to hang out and celebrate until Hermione said, "OK guys, it's time to go to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"But Mione..."

"I didn't say we all had to go back to our rooms, Ron. I just said that it was time to actually get some sleep, it is two in morning."

At this point Ginny threw down the two sleeping bags she had brought. The two girls then proceeded to take over Ron's bed, while George snuggled up under the cover of Harry's bed. Ron wasn't happy when he realied he would be sleeping on the floor, but he knew that if he complained Harry would move to the floor and refuse anyone's offer of bed space. He was just that kind of guy.

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The next morning Harry had a slight moment of panis when he first woke-up and found that there was a rather heavy object on top of him. When he realized that object was George, who had managed to roll on top of Harry so that his head rested over Harry's heart, Harry proceeded to turn bright red. Gently shaking him, Harry whispered, "George is time to wake-up. C'mon George."

"Pillows aren't supposed to move!"

"Um, George, I'm not a pillow."

"Pillows aren't supposed to talk!"

"George! Wake! UP!" Harry proceeded to give George a shove that knocked him right off the bed. He landed directly on top of Fred, who gave a loud yelp that woke-up the other three teenagers.

"Was goin' on?"

"Wha' happen'd?"

"Ev'ryone ok?"

"KIDS, IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST," came Mrs. Weasley's voice up the stairs.

The six teenagers tiredly made their way into the kitchen. Hermione and Ron were the only two who were fully awake. Hermione because she was Hermione, and Ron because there was food in front of him.

Harry, who had been the last down the stairs, stood in the doorway simply staring at the far counter. Said counter was buried under a rather large pile of presents.

"C'mon Harry! Eat first, presents later," encouraged Ginny.

"Uh, right. Food, yeah."

At that they all sat down to a delicious meal of cooked and saugages cooked to perfection by Mrs. Weasley.

"So mate, what'da ya wanna do today? It's your call all day long birthday boy!" Ron couldn't help but laugh at his friend's reaction to having an actual birthday!

"Just don't forget about the picnic at noon. Also, I believe Sirius was going to try and get a small quiditch game organized for this afternoon. Now odd you kids go. Have fun, but be safe!"

At Mrs. Weasley's word they all dispeared back upstairs to play games and watch the twins' antics. They decided to leave the presents for lunch so that everyone could watch Harry open them.

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That afternoon all of the residents of the manor had a picnic on one of the large empty fields. The group spent lunch talking and joking around, and just enjoying each other's company.

When they finished eating, Harry opened his presents. He got new quiditch gloves from Bill and Charlie, a planner from Percy, a jumper and scarf in Gryffindor colors from Mrs. Weasley, a book on wizarding customs from Mr. Weasley, a bag full of their candies from the twins, a bunch of t-shirts with various lettering and graphics from Hermione and Ginny, a box of chocolates from Honeydukes (that Remus kept eyeing) from Ron, a book on defense from Remus, a snake from Hagrid, a book on wandless magic from Dumbledore, and a new set of dress robes and (Harry's personal Favorite) on a book on becoming an animagus from Sirius.

After Harry finished thanking everyone and having a quick conversationwith his snake, Sirius got his quiditch game started.

"Okay, so we're gonna play four on four. No snitch and no bludgers. Team 1 has: Ron, Harry, and George; with Bill playing seeker. Team 2 has: Fred, Charlie, and myself; with Ginny playing keeper. I spent a lot of time figuring out these teams, so no complaints, just trust that I have my reasons. Grab your brooms and Let's Go!"

The game that followed had to be the most ridiculous game of quiditch ever played! The twins kept switching teams, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Sirius was laughing too hard at them to pay any attention to the rest of the game, and everyone got a good view of why Harry and Charlie ONLY played as seekers. They could catch passes just fine, but throwing them was another matter altogether. Ron spent the whole time trying to organize a strategy for his team, but failing miserably because no one was paying any attention to what he was saying. The keepers were the only ones not making total idiots of themselves, but that was only because no one was making any decent shots against them.

All of a sudden, when the score was...well, no one knew the score, but Harry's team was winning because he was the birthday boy..., Harry froze about 10 ft higher than the rest of the players.

"Hey Harry,you gonna sit up there all day or come and try to get one past me," Ginny called out.

"Huh, what? Could you come up here for a second, Sirius?"

"What's up, Kid," he asked as he stopped next to his godson.

In response Harry just pointed over a hill way off to the right of the Manor. When Sirius looked over he got quite confused because he didn't see anything interesting, just a boring field. A very boring field. Too boring.


	4. The Heir

Chapter 4

The Heir

"What do you see, Cub?" Judging from the fact that he felt absolutely no desire to explore the field, Sirius figured that there were powerful wards hiding something.

"You don't see it? But, but, it's...How can you not see it?"

By this point all the other players had joined them and were wondering what was going on. The group on the ground was even more confused because they couldn't hear what was going on.

"It's what, Harry," Sirius gently prodded Harry to continue with what he had been about to say.

"A castle."

The group knew the rumor, but the idea that Harry, and only Harry, could see it was rather unbelievable.

"Let's land and ask Albus if he knows anything. We'll figure it out, relax Harry," Bill commented rationally.

"You do that. I'm flying over there." With that Harry kicked up to top speed and flew straight towards the castle. Since his broom was the fastest by far, the others didn't even try to fly after him. Well, Sirius did but gave up pretty quickly.

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Two hours later found Hermione and Percy leading the research in the library. The rest of the Weasley children were all with them surrounded by books. The adults could all be found in the sitting room on the first floor. Sirius was continuously pacing back and forth across the room while Remus kept trying to get him to sit down. The two adult Weasley's were sitting together on one of the coaches, with Arthur quietly keeping Molly from acting as frantic as Padfoot. Albus Dumbledore was sitting at the desk constantly checking some strange looking gadgets and appearing quite calm.

"Siri, sit down. C'mon Padfoot you aren't going to help him by wearing a hole in the carpet."

"But Moony, he's been gone for TWO HOURS! We can't get to him, we don't really know where he is, and we have absolutely NO IDEA IF HE'S ALRIGHT!"

"Relax, my dear boy. This property has always been in the hands of the light, so the likelihood of Harry being in danger are exceedingly small," explained the Headmaster. Cutting the animagus off before Sirius could begin again, he continued, "and my ward monitor is showing that there are exactly 14 people within the wards at the moment; meaning that Harry has not left them and no one else has managed to enter them Also, this monitor here would glow if Harry was physically injured on any way. As you can see it is not glowing."

"You're sure," Sirius checked.

"Positive, my boy."

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"I Got It!" Hermione jumped up from where she sitting, still holding the book she had been reading.

"You know what castle Harry saw and where he went?" Variations of this question were thrown her way by all the other occupants of the library.

"Well, not exactly," she admitted sheepishly. "But I think I've figured out what wards are keeping the rest of us from finding the castle. Also, if I'm correct, I know how to get into contact with him."

"Well, why don't we head down and get Albus' opinion before we jump into anything." With that Bill led them all downstairs to the sitting room.

Hermione headed straight towards Dumbledore with the book. "Professor, I think that what we're dealing with are Heir Wards. But that leads to the question of whose heir Harry is, especially since Gryffindor castle is supposedly in southern France."

"Heir Wards...hmm... You may be onto something there, Miss Granger. Especially since the wards wouldn't recognize Mr. Potter until he turned 16."

"Which explains why he never noticed anything before today, even thought he's certainly gone flying with Ron more than once."

"And you're quite right about the fact that there are many clues that would lead us to believe that we are not dealing with anything related to the founders."

"Hermione didn't you say that you also found a way to contact him?" Charlie questioned.

"What, why didn't you say so. How, c'mon let's get to it," Sirius immediately said jumping up from where he had finally sat down on the arm of Moony's chair.

"It says here," Hermione began pointing to a passage in the tome, "that the Heir's familiar should be able to by pass the wards. So, I believe we could send a message to him with Hedwig."

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Meanwhile...

Harry flew over to the castle and landed in front of the huge stone doors. The handles on the doors were detailed carvings of what looked like panthers with wings. The doors swung open for him and Harry entered the large structure. The entrance hall had doors to the right and left with a long corridor stretching out directly in front. Harry decided to try the left-hand door; he felt strangely drawn to it. Walking ion, he found himself in a hallway that was about the length of the short side of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Reaching the door at the end of this hallway, Harry realized that it lead into one of the towers. Behind this door was a circular stairway that harry climbed up to find a private study at the top.

The study had a soft, deep black carpet; the walls had vertical black and white stripes; and the curtains were black with rich purple edging. Other accents, including the trim and drawer knobs, were done in that same luscious purple. The desk and book shelves were made from mahogany wood with a calm, dark stain. Overall, the study had a quiet and relaxing feeling to it.

Harry almost instantly took a seat on the matching deep purple couch that was under the window. The stairs had been about been about five stories long, and climbing up them after all the flying he had done was quite tiring.

"I haven't waited over a millennium to meet my heir just just to have him fall asleep as soon as he gets here!"

Upon hearing the voice, Harry immediately jumped up and drew his wand. "Who's there? Show yourself!" After a quick look around, Harry assured himself that he was indeed the only person in the room.

"Relax, young one, I'm nothing more than paint and canvas," said the portrait that hung on the wall in front of the desk.

"Oh, um, hi," Harry commented eloquently. "So who are you?" As he asked this, he sat back down on the couch.

"My name is Ambrosius, but most people know me as Merlin."

"Merlin! But, but, I thought there weren't any portraits of him, i mean of you!"

Laughing the painting replied, "That would be because you are looking at the only one. And since no one but my heir could find this castle, and there this portrait, it was assumed that no portraits were ever made."

"Oh, well that makes sense. Wait a minute, did you say heir?" Harry was wearing what could only be described as a "deer caught in headlights" expression as he realized the full implications of what Merlin had said.

"Indeed, I did. Which means that this castle, and everything within its wards, belongs to you."

Merlin continued to explain more about the property. He told Harry the number of rooms,and what types, that there were in the castle. They discussed the other items of value that could be found in it, as well as the layout of the grounds. Most importantly, Merlin told Harry how to key other people into the wards.

Just as they were finishing up their conversation they heard a tapping on the window.

"Hedwig!" Harry jumped up to open the window and let her in. "It's from Sirius, my godfather. Have I really been here two hours? Are there quills in the desk? I really should respond."

"Top left draw. And yes, it probably has been two hours. We've talked about quite few things since you got here.

Harry quickly sent a reply back with Hedwig before saying goodbye to his new mentor, and promising to return, to Merlin. He headed down to where he had left in his broom in the entrance hall. When he got there he noticed a small black kitten sleeping next to his broom with its tail wrapped around the tail of the broom.

"Well now, who is this?" Harry watched as the little feline stood up and stretched its back and wings out. "Wings?" The winged kitten took no notice of Harry's confusion, instead it rubbed against his leg and whined to be picked up. So, Harry picked it up, grabbed his broom, and flew back to the Manor with the kitten held close to his chest.

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When Harry arrived back at the Manor, everyone was outside waiting for him since his note said he was going to return right away.

"Harry! You're Back! You're Okay! You have...a...cat?"

"Hey Sirius! Yes, I'm back. As to this little guy, well he was just and interesting end to an interesting day," Harry replied.

"Well why don't we head in and you can tell us all about it," added Remus.

"Alright so first off, the castle is huge. I walked into the entrance hall..."

When Harry finished his story, the room was absolutely silent. They were having a hard time accepting that the Heir of Merlin was sitting right on front of them.

"Well my boy, this is certainly interesting news! I don't suppose you would be willing to give a tour of your new property tomorrow."

"of course, Headmaster. I was planning to go back any way to try and find out more about this little guy," Harry answered gesturing to the black ball of fur that was currently purring in his lap.

"You know..."

"I do believe..."

"That it is time..."

"For a distraction!" The twins finished together. They then ran out of the room to go do who knows what.

Ron, Harry, Sirius, and Remus glanced at each other and then also ran out of the room as well.

"Now what are those four up to?" Mrs. Weasley asked the room in general.

Everyone just shrugged in response.


	5. Talks

Sorry this took so long...life kinda happened...Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

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Talks

After dinner that night Remus caught up with Harry in the library.

"You know, Cub, trying to find you at a time when you're not with at least one other person is rather difficult."

"Oh, umm, I didn't realize that. Although I'm not really alone at the moment," Harry commented, considering he had his owl, snake and kitten with him. "But, did you need to talk to me about something?"

"Actually, I believe you wanted to talk to me about something. Something related to my relationship with Sirius."

"Oh right. It's not so much about your relationship as it is about George."

"Ahhh, now I see where this is going. You're interested in a boy and don't know how to deal with that. Well first let me tell you it's much more acceptable, and common, in the wizarding than in the muggle world. So you don't have to worry about all that."

"Really?" Remus nodded in answer. "Well that's a relief!"

"Indeed. You know, you really are a combination of your parents." At Harry's confused look he continued, "falling for a redheaded prankster."

Laughing Harry replied, "I suppose you're right, Moony. But what do I do about the fact that I've fallen for a redheaded prankster?"

"Why you seduce him of course!"

"Seduce? Me? How?"

At that the two set to work figuring out a plan that would leave George wondering what the hell had happened. Just as they were finishing up Sirius and Ron came joined them to finalize their plans for later that night.

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The next morning the four pranksters sat at the breakfast table anxiously waiting for the twins to come down.

"What are you guys so excited about? And why wasn't I a part of it?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, with those four, you should be glad to be left out," Hermione commented.

"Don't worry 'Mione, even you will appreciate this. Besides, we had Remus with us and he wouldn't let us do anything too bad!" Harry felt the need to settle her nerves a little bit.

"No, you did not have Remus with you, you had Moony with you."

"HAHA, she does have a point there Cub!"

"I suppose you're right Sirius," Harry replied.

"AAAAHHHHHH"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!"

At the twins' screams Moony, Padfoot, Harry, and Ron fell off of their chairs laughing. Ginny sniggered at all six of them, and Hermione appeared caught between disapproval and amusement.

When the twins entered the room the amusement definitely won out and Hermione broke out laughing with the rest of the group. Fred and George with huge breasts, pigtails, and in a Britney Spears style school girl outfit was just that funny!

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Getting the entire group over to the castle presented an interesting problem. Walking over there could take over an hour some of them, there was a limited number of brooms, and the wards restricted any easy magical transportation. In the end it was decided to see how many people they could fit on the brooms, and maybe attach something to one or two of them for some of the adults.

"George why don't you share with Harry," Lupin suggested casually. He received a look from Harry but a huge smile from George.

"Ummm, I'll go with Ron. You all can decide who gets to share with Fred." Hermione decided to kill to birds with one stone and give herself the opportunity to be close to Ron while avoiding put her life in the hands of a Weasley twin.

In the end brooms ended up as follows: Harry and George, Ron and Hermione, Sirius and Remus, Ginny and Percy, Bill and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie and Mr. Weasley, Fred, and Albus.

As Harry led the group over to the castle, he decided to use George as a back rest; meaning he basically spent the flight sitting in the redhead's lap. Neither had any complaints about the situation.

"So, Harry, you picked a name for that little bugger yet?" George questioned fairly soon after they took off.

"Yeah, Kieron. And that reminds me, I need to ask Ambrosius about him. I'm pretty sure he mentioned something yesterday, but I can't quite remember."

"Who's Ambrosius?"

"You'll see."

"Tease."

"You think that's me being a tease? Well, I suppose I'll just have to prove you wrong about that, huh?" Harry was very glad George couldn't see his face right now because the bright red color and devious smirk would have been dead give-aways!

"You definitely have a side to you that most people don't realize exist. I'm gonna find out what exactly it is." Harry just laughed in response thinking of what George's reaction would be when he realized it was his Slytherin side!

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When they got to the castle Harry decided to bring them to the study first, mostly because he hadn't explored the rest of the castle himself.

"Ah, I see you've already found yourself a companion. That is excellent, young one," Merlin commented as soon as Harry entered the room.

"Yeah, he was waiting by my broom when I left yesterday. I was actually wondering if you could tell me more about him."

"He is a volatilis pardus, or winged panther. Although that name is slightly misleading, he is far more than simply a winged feline. Each Volardus has unique magical abilities that complement his or her handler."

"So we'll discover Kieron's abilities as we go along?" George asked. He was the only that seemed to have gotten over seeing the portrait of the legendary wizard.

"Exactly. Although there is book on the top shelf over there that should aid you, child."

"Thanks, Ambrosius. You wanna grab that 'Mione, seeing as how you're already over there." Indeed Hermione had walked over to the books as soon as she had entered the room. No one was surprised by that.

SMACK

"Ow, what'd you do that for George," Harry complained having just been smacked up-side the head.

"Oh, I think you know, " was all he got in response.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After talking to the portrait for awhile more the group continued on the tour. Well, the group minus one member, Albus stayed to discuss various things with the most famous man in wizarding history. The actual tour guide, since Harry hadn't explored the castle himself the day before, was little Kieron. A member of the group would comment on what they were interested in seeing and the kitten would trot off in the direction of whatever it was.

On the first floor the group saw the kitchens, the grand ballroom, the grand dining hall, and the music hall.

As the group got ready to head up to the next floor, Sirius asked;"So got any balls planned, Cub? You can't let room like these go to waste, it's time for you to join High Society!"

"Sure, why not? Oh, and Sirius...thanks for volunteering to plan all of that stuff for me."

The rest of the group laughed at Sirius' horrified expression at the though of planning any social events.

The second floor had a more moderate dining room and a gathering room, for smaller and more intimate get-togethers. Also, this was where the bottom floor of the library was. Getting Hermione and Remus to continue on with the tour was quite the feat. The upper floors contained the guest wings, as well as those intended for family members. The master suite was on the top floor with access to the study they had all already seen.

XXXXXXX

Back in the study Merlin asked Albus to tell him about Harry's past , and all his previous accomplishments.

"...I do not know the child very well just yet, but I feel as if would gloss over any difficulties he has has in his life, and minimize his role in events of importance."

"You know him better than you give yourself credit for, Merlin," the headmaster replied. "I'm afraid I don't know too many details of his home life, I recommend asking Miss Granger. I can, however, tell you about his experiences at Hogwarts..." He went on to detail all of Harry's adventures at school, as well as other important events. Quiditch was a rather large topic as well.

"Well now, isn't he quite the young wizard. All these accomplishments before he comes into his inheritance! I shall be very surprised if history does not view him as an even greater mage than myself."

"Indeed, Merlin, indeed."

XXXXXXX

"Ah, there you all are. Did you enjoy yourselves?" inquired the portrait.

"Yeah, but does there really have to be so many stair?" Ron responded, while looking rather exhausted.

"Ronald Weasley, where are your manners," admonished his mother.

"I must have been adopted, I am not related to him," Percy muttered under his breadth. Remus, the only one who heard, chuckled quietly.

Charlie, seeing the opportunity to tease his brother, commented; "Perhaps the problem isn't the number of stairs, Ron. Perhaps it's just that you're out of shape!" Ron turned bright Weasley red as the group laughed.

Twinkling madly, the headmaster said; "I believe it is time to return to the manor, we all have a busy day tomorrow."

"Why, what's happening tomorrow Albus?" questioned Arthur.

"Training."

XXXXXXX

That night Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins hung out in the boys' room. They were listening to music and just joking around. Harry made sure to lightly touch George whenever possible without being obvious he was doing it on purpose. The girls however realized something was going on, but they would confront him later,

Hedwig, Kieron, and Silventria (Harry's snake) were all sitting together at the foot of Harry's bed. When Ginny looked over, she noticed that Hedwig was giving the kitten a flying lesson and pointed it out to Hermione.

"Awwww, look at how cute Kieron is, flapping his little wings," 'Mione cooed.

"He is the most adorable creature I've ever seen. Officially," replied Ginny.

"Give him a few years and he won't be 'cute' anymore. Instead he'll be a sleek and strong warrior," Harry informed them all smartly.

The group laughed, and Ginny threw a pillow, at him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

The next morning everyone gathered for breakfast at eight am. Due to recent events the Headmaster's original plans for training had to be changed. It no longer made sense for all of the 'children' to train together. Also, after talking with the portrait of Merlin, Albus decided to have the older Weasleys trained as well.

In the end it was decided that the group would be split into five groups for training. Charlie, Bill, and Arthur were grouped together to work on advanced defense and basic offense. Molly and Hermione paired off wanting to learn Healing instead of Battle skills. Ginny and the twins were going to work on defensive skills, while Percy and Ron had been chosen to work together in learning strategy. Harry would be training by himself in the castle.

XXX

Charlie, Bill, and Arthur had the immense pleasure of working with Mad-Eye Moody.

"Well, what are you all doing just standing there! Try and take me down!" Moody yelled at the three of them.

They jumped into action, throwing everything they had at the ex-Auror. In two minutes flat Moody had all three Weasleys incapacitated.

"Seems I've got my work cut out for me. Now, tell me everything that you all did wrong."

By the time they were done, Moody had written up a three foot long list of mistakes they had made. These mistakes included issues of teamwork, lack of power control, and simple bad aim.

"Now I want each of you to work on one of the three main problems we just discussed. Bill, you're going to figure out how the three of you are going to work positively as a group. Charlie, you're going to research various control methods, master them, and be able to teach them. Arthue, you need to work on your aim," Moody explained.

XXX

Poppy Pomfrey came to the manor to teach basic Healing to the two who wished to learn it. Severus Snape would also be working with them when he had the time.

"First, I will teach the two of you the basic diagnostic spells. You can't heal someone if you do not know what is wrong with them." Pomfrey showed them the spells to determine the specifics of a broken bone, some mild illnesses, and the presence of some basic potions in a persons blood stream.

"Okay, so now that you have some of the basic diagnostic spells mastered, we will go over the differences between Healing magic and the more common strains of magic that you are used to."

"Isn't it true that, on average, women have an easier time doing Healing magic than men? Something to do with our magical connection to the earth," Hermione asked, having already done quite a bit of reading about Healing magic.

"Very close Miss Granger, very close. I'm glad to see you are taking these lessons seriously. Now this particular concept it rather abstract because it predates the use of magical foci. Instead of wands, magicians used to use direct connections to the elements to access their magic…"

XXX

Ginny and the twins were excited to learn that they would be working with Sirius and Remus. However, they would soon realize that their training would be just as intense as everyone else's.

"Okay, to begin with we will work on some simple shielding. So get your shields up and Padfoot and I will see how long they can last," Remus instructed.

"Then we'll let you try and take our shields down," added Sirius.

And with that they got down to work.

It took the two Marauders all of about five minutes to take down their three shields. It took Fred, George and Ginny closer to forty minutes to take down their instructers' shields. So after those forty-five minutes or so, the youngsters were totally exhausted while Sirius and Remus we only mildly fatigued.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work to if we want the guys to be able to protect themselves let alone anyone else, Remy," declared Sirius.

XXX

"Kingsley, allow me to introduce Percival and Ronald Weasley. Misters Weasley, this is Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. He is extremely qualified to teach you everything you need to know, so I expect you both to give him his due respect," said Albus Dumbledore. "I'll leave you all to get started."

After Albus left the room Kingsley began his lesson; "The key to good strategy is being able to change your plan at a moments notice. To practice this skill we will play a three person game of chess."

"You can't play one game of chess with three people!" cried Ron. Percy just rolled his eyes at his little brother.

"Don't interrupt me," Kingsley said looking disapprovingly at Ron. "This will work by using a rotation. You two will start by playing each other, then after three moves each I will rotate in for Percival. After three mopre turns her will rotate in for Ronald, and so on and so forth. Understand?" The two boys nodded. "Good." Then they began the game.

XXX

In Merlin's study, Harry sat down in front of the portrait and they began their work.

"I believe that before you begin your training you must first understand where you come from. In other words, today we will be discussing the family ancestry that we share. Then we will have to utilize what resources we have available to us to piece together the rest of your ancestry," Merlin explained.

"Well, my mother was a muggleborn so there shouldn't be anything all that important to learn from that line of my family," Harry commented.

Actually, my child, many muggleborn witches and wizards are simply the first magical descendant in a long line of squibs. Therefore, it is possible that your mother's family does have a significant magical history."

"Really, I never knew that. Aunt Petunia would be horrified," Harry said with a small smile.

"Most people these days aren't aware of that little fact, or if they are they do everything in the power to deny it. Now, on to the lesson. I suppose it would be best to explain our ancestry using names that are still recognized and respected in the current British Wizarding culture. So, as you are my heir, I am, in turn, an heir as well. The heir of Godric Gryffindor…"

"So I _am_ related to him! That explains so much," interupted Harry.

"You have had reasons to suspect a relation to the Founder in the past?"

"Yeah, in my…"

"Yes. You are a member of the wizarding elite, and a powerful political figure as well. As such, you need to take more care in how you speak and act. It is yes, not 'yeah'."

"Right, noted. So, Yes," Harry glanced up towards the paiting to receive a nod of approval. "In my second year at Hogwarts I pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the sorting hat…"

XXX

In the meantime, Dumbledore had gone to deal with the politics of the situation. The longer that Minister Fudge denied that Voldemort had returned, the deadlier the upcoming war would be. So the Headmaster of Hogwarts had the unenviable task of telling the pig-headed man that he was wrong.

He also planned on going to visit Amelia Bones to discretely see if there was anything he could do to help Sirius gain his freedom. Depending on what types of evidence were currently permissable in court, they might already have what they needed to have to prove that Peter Pettigrew was still alive.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

That night the manor was quiet and calm as everyone relaxed after their intense days.

Everyone but the Headmaster that is. Albus spent the night pacing in his study and seething about the idiocy of the current Minister of Magic. There wasn't much he could do to force Fudge to see the truth, or to remove him from office. However, he could clear Sirius' name. It appeared that the Auror department and Amelia Bones had managed to push through a bill that legalized the testimony of werewolves, as long as they were given veritaserum. So Albus had arranged for a hearing on former Death Eater activity with a key witness. Since he was Albus Dumbledore, the hearing was set for only a week later.

XXX

The next day:

Since they had gotten distracted by the stories of Harry's adventures the day before, Merlin continued explaining their family tree to Harry.

"So, as we discussed yesterday, I am Gryffindor's heir, through his eldest daughter. Godric Gryffindor had three children. I am unsure as to the current descendent of his son, however I believe that it may be Albus Dumbledore. The line going through his younger daughter leads to Arthur Pendragon, and therefore Arthur's two sons. I am unaware as to whether or not either Borre or Mordred ever had children, so it is very possible that that line has died out."

"So you were related to King Arthur?"

"Yes, however distantly. You are as well, extremely distantly."

"God," Harry commented, slumping down into his chair. "Up until I was 11 magic wasn't real, and stories about King Arthur and Merlin were fairy tales. Now not only am I a wizard, but I'm related to both!"

"Well, almost everyone in the magical world is related to each other to a certain degree. And you actually not a wizard."

At that comment Harry's head shot up and he intelligently commented; "Huh?"

"You are a mage," the portrait explained with a small smile.

"And a mage is what exactly?" By this point Harry had dropped his head into hands and was shaking it gently. The last few days had contained a few too many revelations and he was wondering if this would be the one that destroyed what little sanity he had left.

"A mage is a wizard that still has a direct connection to at least one of the magical elements. As for myself, I am a fire mage. Godric was connected to fire as well, however mages were far more common in those days."

"Okay, I get that, sort of. But what, exactly, are the magical elements? And what does it mean to be directly connected to one pf them?"

"Those are very good questions, my child, and I believe that they would make for a very interesting research project for you."

Harry groaned.

XXX

That night the kids, excluding Percy, all gathered in the twins' room to see what everyone had been up to the past two days. The night before everyone had gone to bed early since they were so exhausted (physically and/or mentally) from their training during the day.

So, Harry took over George's bed with the hope that the owner of the bed would join him. Ginny stole George's pillow out from under Harry's head ("Hey, I was comfortable, give it back Ginny!) and curled up on the floor. Hermione decided to copy the younger girl, so she proceeded to steal Fred's pillow.

"Oi, that's mine", "Hey I was gonna do that", the twins shouted at the same time.

Hermione had managed to grab the pillow right before George, who was planning on replacing the one Ginny stole with his brother's. Harry, in the meantime, had made a pillow out of George's blanket. Ron had decided to simply sit on the floor without a pillow; it was just easier that way. Fred ended up sitting on his bed and using the wall as a backrest. Bill and Charlie got comfy in the two desk chairs in the room. After standing in the center of the room and looking around for a while, George jumped on his bed, landed on Harry, and decided that the Boy-Who-Lived made an excellent pillow. Harry just smiled happily, very happily.

"Everybody comfy?" Charlie asked with a smile. He got a chorus of affirmative responses from the group.

"Hey Ronniekins"

"How was working"

"With our dear"

" "Brother Percy?" " the twins asked, leaning in towards Ron and looking very interested in his answer.

"Haha, very funny," Ron replied. "Actually though, he really wasn't that bad. There haven't been a whole lot of opportunities for talking though, so he hasn't really had the chance to be his usual git of a self."

"Ronald! Don't talk about your brother that way!" Hermione scolded.

Ginny shivered, commenting, "Mione, you really need to stop channeling our Mum. It's really creepy." She managed to get a laugh from everyone with that statement.

"You know Ginny, it's just going to get worse since Mi's training with your Mum," Harry reminded her.

Ginny sighed dramatically, with the back of her band against her forehead, and replied, "Woe is me."

Hermione whacked her in the head with a pillow.

"As a matter of fact my training has been both extremely interesting and very enjoyable. Mrs. Weasley is a very attentive student," Hermione glared at Rom, who was snickering softly, as she said this, "and Mme. Pomfrey is a very knowledgeable teacher. Just today, in fact, she taught us a bit about the magical elements, which most witches and wizards don't know about anymore."

At that comment, Harry perked up when. When she didn't say anymore about the elements, he prompted, "And the magical elements are…?"

"Oh, well you see…" Hermione whole face brightened up at that chance to explain what she learned.


End file.
